adjective

greedy

GREE-dee/ˈɡriːdi/

Wanting more of something than is needed or fair.

The greedy woman reaches for the last cookie despite her already-full plate.

At a shared snack table, an older woman with a plate already piled with cookies reaches for the last cookie on the serving dish while a younger woman beside her has an empty plate.

Etymology

greedyOld Englishvoracious, hungry; covetous

Old English grædig covered both ravenous hunger and covetous desire. That pairing connects appetite for food with wanting an excessive share of money or advantage.

In context

Ford School of Public Policy54:57

it turned out to be extremely greedy because corruption is just beyond -- because instead of fighting -- people were fighting for how to steal another company

Yevgenia Albats & Ambassador Susan Elliott: Media, information, and the U.S. - Russia relationship

More examples

Don't be greedy—leave some pizza for the rest of us.
The company grows greedier and keeps cutting workers' pay to increase profits.
He's greedy for attention and interrupts whenever someone else speaks.

Forms

greedy · greedier · greediest

greed noun — Excessive desire for more than is needed.

greedily adverb — With excessive desire for more.

Similar words

grasping: Emphasizes a selfish drive to acquire money or possessions.
avaricious: Specifically describes an excessive desire for money or wealth.